Dr.
Theodore Innitzer was born on 25 December 1875 in the parish of Weipert in
Bohemia, which at that time was Austrian territory, now Chech Republic. He
was the second son of William and Maria Innitzer, a humble family engaged
in carpet-knotting. The young Theodore attended the village school in
Weipert, a two­ hours journey away from his home. This distance did not
prevent the boy from rising daily an hour earlier to attend Holy Mass and
serve as an altar boy in the parish Church. His parents were deeply
religious. What wonder, then, if the young boy, at an early age, formed a
desire to become a priest. Already in the primary school, Innitzer was an
excellent pupil.

But
his parents could not afford to send him to a secondary school as their
financial means were too limited. It was with a heavy heart that Theodore
submitted to his father's decision and became an apprentice in a weaving
factory to contribute his mite to home expenses and for the education of
other children. His parish priests and the teachers, however, were very
sorry, since they saw the boy's intelligence and still more his piety.
They finally persuaded his father to send him to the gymnasium at Kaaden.
His mother had already saved every penny earned by Theodore to pay his
fees for the first year. Fourteen families "adopted" the young student and
provided his meals in rotation.

In 1898,
he graduated with Magna cum Laude. Again, it was divine providence
which promoted him to enter the seminary in Vienna to study for priesthood
In 1902, he was ordained a priest. In 1906, he completed his doctorate in
Theology. He became, in succession lecturer, Pro­fessor of Theology and
Professor of the New Testament at the University of Vienna. For two years
he was its Rector. In those politically troubled times, he came to be
known among the students as the "Rector of Peace”.

In 1929,
he was called upon by the Chancellor of Austria, Dr. Schober, to become a
member of the Austrian Cabinet, as Minis­ter for Social Welfare. He
distinguished himself in this office as the friend of the poor and the
working dass. Then came the great day, when on 19 September 1932, he was
consecrated Archbishop of Vienna. The following year, on 13 March, he
became Austria's Cardinal.

As a
young priest, and later as a University Professor, Dr. Innitzer
co-operated enthusiastically with Paul Sonntag and his co-workers, who had
been sent to Vienna by Fr. Bodewig in 1905. It was with his assistance
that Bro. Sonntag was able to establish in 1908 the "Publishing Agency for
India", which later in 1916, became an "Association for the Catholic
Mission Work for India". Professor Innitzer was elected as the
vice-president of this association. He kept dose contact with the Brothers
and with/ the Zanana Mission Sisters. In order to make the missionary
endeavours more efficient, Dr. lnnitzer co-operated in the effort of
transforming the "Catholic Mission Work for India" into a missionary
Congregation of Priests, Brothers and Sisters who should become active in
India. Pope Benedict XV approved the plan, when he said "It is good to
give the work a more permanent foundation".

On the
recommendation of His Eminence Cardin Gustav Piffl, the Congregation for
the Propagation of Faith gave its final approval in 1923 to set up the
Missionary Congregation of "Queen of Apostles". On 1 July 1923, the
Congregation was canonically erected by the Archbishop of Vienna and Prof.
Innitzer was appointed the Superior of the Congregation and since then he
remained the spiritual father of the Sisters until his death. Thus, Prof.
Innitzer was considered a Co-Founder of the Congregation. In 1932,
when Innitzer was made the Cardinal, the Congregation had more than 60
male and 150 female members. These included seven priests, four students
of theology and twelve students of anthropology.

Cardinal
Innitzer expressed keen interest in the work of the Sisters in India. He
personally presented the revised version of the Constitutions of the
Congregation to the Sacred Congrega­tion for the Propagation of Faith and
secured their approval with the "Decree of Praise" on April 7th
1949.He rejoiced at the progress the Congregation was making in India. At
every visit to the Mother House, he reminded the Sisters not to forget
their missionary ideals.

Cardinal
Innitzer died at the age of 80 on 9.October 1955. ‘To serve in love’ was
his motto. His personal life of poverty and simplicity, with his great
love for the poor and the youth remain as outstanding qualities and an
inspiration for all of us.